Was reading a headcanon post earlier about Dean and consent while rewatching the kiss scene in Caged Heat and something occurred to me about Deanās awareness of Casās consent to things.
When he sees Meg kiss Cas, we see Deanās reaction behind them.
He frowns, glances at Sam, looking annoyed, opens his mouth as though to say something, and then actually makes a move to step towards them-you can see heās moving forward just after Meg breaks away from Cas.
Bear in mind the last time Dean saw Cas in any potential sexual/romantic situation, it was the brothel and it was blatantly obvious that Cas wasnāt comfortable.
Then when Cas takes hold of Meg and initiates a kiss himself, we see Deanās reaction differs. He still looks flustered, mildly annoyed (pointing at the wall to remind them silently of the approaching dogs) and then shrugs. He doesnāt have the same irritated reaction and doesnāt make any move towards them.
Then when Cas breaks away, Dean looks at him questioningly. Could both be a āWhat the hell are you doing right now?ā questioning look and also a āWhat did you think?ā questioning look.
Itās only when Cas says āI learnt that from the Pizza Manā that Dean seems to fully stand down from the āready to move in if anythingās wrongā stance.
On another note, when Dean realises that Cas is fine- itās pretty interesting to see what his face does.
Thereās a sort of bewildered expression as he looks away from Cas, as though heās still trying to compute what heās just seen and his eyes actually widen as he looks down at the end of the shot. In fact, the shot actually focuses on Dean specifically in that moment, not any of the others-itās Deanās reaction to the kiss thatās important.
It makes more sense when you remember Dean has never seen Cas acting consensually in any romantic situation before-in fact, I think Jensen mentioned later on (as to why Dean was so surprised by Casās love confession) that he wasnāt even sure angels could feel those things. Up until now, Deanās teasing Cas with flirty remarks has mostly seemed to go over Casās head. Even earlier in the episode, when Cas is watching porn, he didnāt seem to properly understand what was going on.
Now, Deanās suddenly having this realisation that-oh. Cas does get some stuff about sex. Cas does kiss. Oh. Thatās a whole new side to Cas. (It actually looks quite similar to the expression he does in Changing Channels when Gabe calls Cas āprettyā. Thereās an expression then thatās sort of āWait-is he?ā as though heās always been somewhat aware of it but this is the first time itās been acknowledged out loud.)
It allows him to acknowledge Cas in a whole new way he didnāt before. Because previously Cas seemed to totally lack interest in sex, so in many ways, it would have been safe to flirt with him and tease him, because it feels off-limits.
Now, though? Heās seeing Cas make out with someone right there, in front of him. Itās impossible to ignore this whole new side to Cas. So maybe Cas can get Deanās references and jokes. Maybe Cas does get more of the personal space thing than he lets on. Cas can want at least kissing, and what does that mean?
It, in a way, gives Dean permission to let himself see Cas that way properly-as a being that can want sex-for the very first time. And that seems to simultaneously intrigue him and almost scare him. Because having permission to see Cas in that way lets him acknowledge things that he didnāt have to acknowledge before.
Deanās annoyance in the scene didnāt just originate from Cas kissing someone-it originated from him not being sure if Cas was OK with what was going on. Heās seen Cas be deeply unsure/uncomfortable in the brothel (which, funny as it was, wasnāt Deanās best moment overall), doesnāt know how heās going to react and actually makes a move towards them as though heās going to try to stop Meg kissing him or make sure Cas is OK.
Once he realises Cas is onboard, he stops moving forward-he actually moves back a little-and even slightly holds his hands up in a shrug. While he still looks uncomfortable and flustered, heās no longer angry.
Dean wanted to be sure that Cas was all right with what was going on, was prepared to step in if Cas was uncomfortable, and backed off when he realised Cas was OK. Not only is this Dean showing a good awareness of consent, itās also a nice bit of character development from the brothel episode the previous season, where Cas was pretty uncomfortable and Dean did-as well as he meant it-keep pushing him.
Then, Dean was keen on giving Cas more human experiences. Now, Deanās more conscious of letting Cas go at his own pace and heās prepared to step in if others arenāt letting that happen too. As well as Cas becoming more accepting of human behaviour, Dean is also making adjustments for Cas.
And Cas seems aware of this. Check out where he looks when he realises Meg has taken his angel blade:
He realises itās gone and must know immediately whoās taken it-but he looks straight at Dean, almost in a way thatās a little annoyed. As though he almost wants to ask Dean why he didnāt intervene to stop Meg taking the blade (not necessarily the kiss).
And he looks at Dean instinctively. Instinctively, heās come to know that Dean will step in to help him in (particularly human) situations where heās out of his depth. Itās an instinctive glance before he turns back to glare at Meg.
So itās not just that Deanās adjusting for Cas-Cas is aware of that adjustment and it just deepens his attachment to Dean.
And yeah-for the first time in this scene, Dean has to acknowledge that he can think of Cas as not being some off-limits angel-but as someone who could actually want sex and intimacy. Which makes anything he himself may feel more possible and more terrifying.
